Squatting Parking Attendants
"Hi, I'm your parking attendant."
We have always parked our car in front of the house. Have done it since 1998 when we bought our first vehicle, a green 1985 Peugeot 505 sedan.
So, it came to my surprise when, after returning from the Summer, a man wearing a beatup corduroy trench coat walked up to me in the street and asked for the past month's parking fees.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I am the guardian (attendant)," he replied.
"I've never seen you before."
I looked him up and down. How was I to know if he was telling the truth? Plenty of guys lie through the teeth to get money.
"Well, I don't know you. I've always parked here without a guardian."
I walked away from him. I wanted to find out the truth.
The neighbor across the street runs a small hanut (grocery store) so I asked him.
"Is that guy with one arm a real parking attendant?
"Yeh, he's a guardian. He came around during the Summer when you were away traveling."
"Did you pay him? What did you pay him?"
"Give him whatever, 40 Dhs ($5.00/month) is OK. Whatever.
At the end of the month, "Muhamed" the guardian approached me at 11pm on the street.
"Do you have some blessing for me?" [his way of asking for payment]
I handed him 40 dhs, and shook his hand. To my surprise, he extended his left hand instead of his right one. The right arm was limp at his side.
Alright, so the guardian moved into the neighborhood, found some cars unguarded, and claimed them to be his business! That's shrewd, that's genius!
a Squatting parking attendant!
* Note: How guardians work
Neighborhood "guardians" (parking attendants) work at night from 11:00 pm-7:00 am. Their job is to watch our cars while we sleep. They are supposed to stay awake. Typically, they snooze wrapped up in a blanket in a chair near the cars. Every hour or so, they get up, walk around, check the vehicles, and return to their seat.
When we first moved in, everyone parked nightly at the large neighborhood parking lot down the street. The lot can fit 50 cars easily. There was just attendant. After a year or two, owners started parking in front of their houses.
When enterprising guardians saw that, they moved in. The next thing I knew was that every block had an attendant. That's how we got ours. He saw our parked car, and "adopted" our block as his new territory!
We have always parked our car in front of the house. Have done it since 1998 when we bought our first vehicle, a green 1985 Peugeot 505 sedan.
So, it came to my surprise when, after returning from the Summer, a man wearing a beatup corduroy trench coat walked up to me in the street and asked for the past month's parking fees.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I am the guardian (attendant)," he replied.
"I've never seen you before."
I looked him up and down. How was I to know if he was telling the truth? Plenty of guys lie through the teeth to get money.
"Well, I don't know you. I've always parked here without a guardian."
I walked away from him. I wanted to find out the truth.
The neighbor across the street runs a small hanut (grocery store) so I asked him.
"Is that guy with one arm a real parking attendant?
"Yeh, he's a guardian. He came around during the Summer when you were away traveling."
"Did you pay him? What did you pay him?"
"Give him whatever, 40 Dhs ($5.00/month) is OK. Whatever.
At the end of the month, "Muhamed" the guardian approached me at 11pm on the street.
"Do you have some blessing for me?" [his way of asking for payment]
I handed him 40 dhs, and shook his hand. To my surprise, he extended his left hand instead of his right one. The right arm was limp at his side.
Alright, so the guardian moved into the neighborhood, found some cars unguarded, and claimed them to be his business! That's shrewd, that's genius!
a Squatting parking attendant!
* Note: How guardians work
Neighborhood "guardians" (parking attendants) work at night from 11:00 pm-7:00 am. Their job is to watch our cars while we sleep. They are supposed to stay awake. Typically, they snooze wrapped up in a blanket in a chair near the cars. Every hour or so, they get up, walk around, check the vehicles, and return to their seat.
When we first moved in, everyone parked nightly at the large neighborhood parking lot down the street. The lot can fit 50 cars easily. There was just attendant. After a year or two, owners started parking in front of their houses.
When enterprising guardians saw that, they moved in. The next thing I knew was that every block had an attendant. That's how we got ours. He saw our parked car, and "adopted" our block as his new territory!
posted by Carl | 9:49 AM
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